hogan873

One thing is clear from this election, especially based on what we saw from Florida and Texas: The Democratic party is out of touch with Latinos. That is something they need to fix moving forward. Even if Biden wins, 2024 looks iffy. It will be increasingly difficult to keep a Democrat in office if the Republican party regroups and puts up a better candidate.

It was interesting to watch each state as the votes were counted. Some counted early voting first, like Florida, and some are counting early voting last, like MI, WI, and PA. What we're seeing is that early voting nation-wide was skewed Democratic while day of voting was skewed Republican. It looks like the early voting along the blue wall could be the tipping point for the entire election.

I'm surprised and pleased that this thread is still alive. When I started it a while back I fully expected it to be closed by election day. But SoxTalk continues to be one of the best sites to visit with a bunch of great folks having (for the most part) courteous conversations. The few times I woke up last night, I went right to this page to see if there were any updates. I certainly appreciate those who have been relaying what they've heard. I went to bed last night certain that 2016 was repeating. Now it seems like Biden has a more clear path to winning. We won't know for a couple days, I'm sure, but we may have a better idea by later today or tomorrow. Regardless, this is an historic election. If there wasn't so much on the line, it could be more enjoyable to watch.

Maybe not over, but it makes it much harder for Trump. He would need to win MI and WI, for sure.

VA was already called for Biden.

Biden winning Ohio would be huge and would make Trump’s path to winning a lot harder.

Most who support and will vote for Trump are proud of it.

Yeah, true Trumpers are the loud minority. Not sure why they call themselves the silent majority.

So far, it looks like there are big turnouts today. This, in addition to the huge early vote counts ensures a voter turnout unlike anything we've seen. It's hard to say for sure, but I would think bigger turnout favors Biden and the Democrats. I keep thinking about 2016 and seeing that over 100 million people didn't vote. Hopefully we've learned from that. My two oldest are 19 and 18, and they voted in their first presidential election today. They are just two of a large group of new voters who have seen what has happened over the past four years. Regardless of who young voters vote for, they will have an impact on this election, 2022, 2024, and beyond.

Yeah, I live in a suburb, so I have a lot invested here. ?

greg, dude...come on.

I'm sure that's true. But could you imagine McCain or Romney supporters doing something like that? Trump's true base are the ones that do stuff like this. They're the ones that want to patrol polling places with open carry guns. Politics is a dirty business, and both sides of the aisle are guilty of doing shady stuff. But this is truly abhorrent.

I think (and hope) that voters learned their lesson in 2016. The early voting is a good indicator that people are not putting faith in the polls and that "other voters" will do the right thing.

It will be interesting to see who ends up getting hired. If Hahn has some say in the coaches, I would expect (and hope) to see a young, manager-in-waiting as the bench coach. And I've heard the name Zaleski as a potential pitching coach. Regardless of the pitching coach, I think a fresh approach could do our young pitchers some good. The development of the pitchers at the MLB level has seemingly been stagnant lately, and I don't doubt that Cooper's old school approach had something to do with that. Cease and Dunning have great stuff, and it seems like they both need a push to get over the hump.

He nailed the La Russa hiring. But, yes, he’s usually dead wrong about stuff.

We’re still complaining about this as if the hiring will be rescinded. Now that TLR is the manager, what do we expect from this team moving forward? And not a dugout full of walkers and Ben Gay, please.

Honestly, if they hire some good younger coaches and spend some money this off season, and all of that leads to the Sox being a winning team, I'll be happy. It's a strange move, and there is the concern about how he'll work with this dynamic, young team. Here's to hoping it all works out.

I’m going to withhold judgement until we see who is brought in as coaches. I expect (and hope) a young manager in waiting will be the bench coach.

So, let's say the Sox hire LaRussa (which seems likely now). What would we want to see to make us feel better about it? Who they hire as supporting staff? Bringing in a bench coach to learn under LaRussa and take over after a couple years? Promising to spend this off season? Essentially, what's the silver lining?

Texas is now being discussed as a toss-up, but I'm not sure I believe that. I think Trump wins FL, OH, GA, and possibly NC. Biden wins PA, WI, MI, MN, and AZ. If two of FL, OH, and PA go to Biden, I think it's over. Hell, if FL goes to Biden early on election night it could be called pretty quickly. Going to be a crazy night and most likely days after.

Thanks. My hope was to get some real feedback on what folks think will happen because I really don't know. So many variables. If it gets nasty, however, I'll understand if it's 86'd.

That's amazing. I know that COVID has a lot to do with it, but I still think turnout would have been high without it.

This could devolve into a bickering mess, but I would hope we could have some good discussions. What do you think will happen next week? Who will win the presidency? Will it be close or a landslide? Will there be court battles? Do the Republicans maintain control of the Senate, or do the Democrats take over? Thoughts on why you think what you predict. I believe Biden will win, but it won't be a landslide despite some polls. I think Florida and/or Pennsylvania go to Biden, and that will be the nail in the coffin. If early voting is any indication, people are fed up and want change. Indications are that the Democrats take the Senate, but there are a couple races that are too close to call. I believe McConnell wins but Graham may lose. The Senate seats in Maine and Arizona may very well flip. Like with the presidential race, voters want change. Voter turnout is key. I think that the more people vote, the greater the chance of a blue wave. Early voting certainly makes it seem like there will be more people heading to the polls this year, but who knows what election day itself holds.

I love McCann, and I would hope he can be brought back. But he will most likely go somewhere that he can be the starting catcher. For those ready to trade Grandal and sign McCann to a long-term deal, remember how much this board hated second half McCann in 2019. Who's to say if 2020 had been a regular year that he wouldn't have been the same. I do think he and Grandal make a great team, and the Sox would have the best catching tandem in the majors. But as I said, McCann deserves to be a starter somewhere, and someone will pay him to be one.

That's a solid counterpoint. He was good and basically performed like...well, like Yasmani Grandal.